


Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist... Guardian, Best Friend

by Aphroditedany



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-16 01:40:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19308040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aphroditedany/pseuds/Aphroditedany
Summary: Hello to every Avengers- MCU fan!!! This is my first story about the Avengers! Some days ago, i was searching about Iron Man and I came upon a beautiful drawing of Tony taking care of the rest de-aged Avengers. It was such a beautiful drawing, it melted my heart! So, I got inspired! The story is short (3 or 4 chapters maximum) and will take place after Thanos' snap in Infinity War. Some characters that did not survive, will be alive in my story. Also, this contains elements from the Endgame! So, if you haven't watched the movie... I hope you like it!





	1. After Wakanda... Surprise!

**TONY**

When did everything go to shit? How had he ended up here, of all places? In the deep space, trapped in a spaceship of the Titan that eliminated half of the universe.

_Deep space. This is a kind description. I guess it is... the space of nothingness. Yes, that fits. The space of our lost hopes, our lost friends. And here I am, in the middle of it, with Thanos' daughter. Or whatever she was to him._

No, Nebula doesn't deserve that. She is, more than anyone else, exactly like him. Trying to erase her past mistakes, trying to offer something to the world.  _Redemption._

She has been taking care of him. The wound where Thanos had stabbed him is slowly healing, after 22 days. And yet, it means nothing. Tomorrow, the oxygen will be over. The food supplies will be over. And he will die in the middle of nowhere, with a blue female alien as his only company.

_Well, you always boasted about this. Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. And you are here with a creature that can barely show emotion._

This is the kindest of his thoughts. There are the other ones, too. The others, who quietly crawl in the night inside his head and torment him until there is nothing left of his sanity. Like the demons of the ancient greek mythology, the Erinyes. The Furies. The demons who remind him who he was, now more than ever. The demons that he could keep at bay while being with Pepper. But he is not with Pepper anymore, and Pepper isn't here anyway. After the Extremis incident, she decided that this was too much for her. He pleaded, he promised to destroy his armors, he even removed the sharpnels and the arc reactor. But she had only smiled sadly at him.  _Even without armor, without money and resources, you will always be this. You will always be Iron Man. It is part of who you have become after Afghanistan. And I can't stand by your side anymore._

The Furies. Sometimes it's his father, yelling enraged at him, condemning him for constructing and selling weapons, for creating Ultron and destroying Sokovia, for inadvertedly killing Wanda and Pietro's parents. For killing all those people he never met. Sometimes it's his mother, tears in her beautiful eyes.  _What did I do wrong, Tony? I failed you, didn't I? And you failed me in return._

And sometimes it is Obadiah. Dear God. He laughs sinisterly at him, holding the first-and last- Jericho missile in his hands.  _This is who you are, Stark. It hurts, doesn't it? Rogers was right, for all his faults. Take off the suit, and what are you? What were you before your pretty, polished suit, with the shining red and gold? A murderer. Does it even matter that you never knew the recipients of your products? You never cared to learn. You were sitting there, content, making money on fire and blood. Your weapons did your shitty job for you, and with every corpse, you just won more and more. Are you that naive, Tony? Did you really think that you could save your soul by playing the hero?_

_"You may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."_

He wakes up screaming after those dreams, tears falling on his face. Clutching on his heart,above the place where the arc reactor used to be. 

Tonight is no better. No sleep comes to him. So, he takes the last piece of the suit he has left, the "head" and starts recording.

_Who will even care if they find it? The last words of a delirious man._

Surprisingly, he manages to sleep a little while, with no nightmares.

Then, he abruptly wakes up.

_Light? Too much light for the deep space._

And he sees her.

* * *

He doesn't understand how, but Carol Danvers manages to grab the spaceship and return them to Earth. To the old Avengers headquarters.

Something breaks inside him, if it is humanly possible. He thought he had been rendered empty, and yet, seeing it like this... So bleak. So void of life, of activity. Only the memories are left.  _More ghosts to chase, it seems._

There are some of his friends alive, thank God. Wanda, Rhodey, even Steven Strange. He wants to be pissed with the wizard for handling Thanos the Time Stone, just to save his miserable life, but he seemed to know what he was doing. There was no other way, that's what he said.

They take him and after letting him have a bath and a shave, they serve him a meal. But before he can grab a bite, Rhodey looks at him apologetically. And he feels a needle piercing one of his veins.

"HOLY FUCK! RHODES! WHAT THE HELL?"

"You are a total baby when it comes to needles, Tony. Did you really think I would warn you before we put an IV on you? You need the hydration and the nutrition. This is not up to you. If you want to stay alive, that is."

He looks murderously at him. "Say a word to anyone else outside this room, and consider yourself dead."

Wanda clears her throat. "Focus, guys. We need to think what we will do next. And if there is a chance to bring back all those we lost."

In screens in front of him, faces appear. Barnes. T' Challa. Wilson. Maria Hill. Nick Fury. Peter Parker.

He can't help himself. The kid was one of those who believed in him. Who trusted him. He had even accompanied him at his clash with Rogers. He had fought a war that was never his business.

_Your weapons did your shitty job for you._

Suddenly, he hears  Wanda's voice. The young woman has never been sympathetic or tender. At least towards him.

"Tony, it's okay. Calm down. Don't cry, please don't."

A strangled sob comes out from somewhere inside him. "I failed them. It should have been me. They...they should be here..."

Wanda says nothing. She just takes his hand in hers, letting him. "Well, he said he would wipe out half of the population of the universe. He never defined the specifics."

After some minutes, he calms down. That racoon,  _Rocket, from the Guardians,_ speaks up.

"He took the stones with him when he left. We know nothing of his next moves. Perhaps he will use them to wipe out another half. Or he will just scrub his heels."

"Honestly, at this exact second, I thought you were a Build-a-Bear."

"Maybe I am."

Strange sighs. "I don't have the Time Stone anymore, so I can't see what he's gonna do next. But we can still track the traces that the stones leave every time they are used, right?"

Danvers nods. "It is something that may be proven useful."

He tunes out of the conversation, staring at the faces that keep appearing in front of him. Then the lists just repeats itself, and dread fills him.

"Hey. Where are the rest of my team? Where is Nat, Rogers, Bruce? Barton and Thor?"

An eerie silence falls upon them.  _No, no, God. Not this. He... He didn't..._

"Answer me. Someone answer me, damn you!" He stands up abruptly, and the whole world starts spinning. 

"Did he... Did he kill them? Did he kill them before the snap?"

Stephen approaches him and forces him to sit down again, but gently. "No, they are not dead. They are here. But they are...different."

What does that mean? "Cut the crap, Strange. Speak clearly."

The wizard sighs. "Wanda, can you explain please?"

She nods. "Before he snapped his fingers, he hesitated. And then I saw it. He was planning something. He smiled, and said:  _If you find Stark, tell him this is my last gift to him. To the Avengers. So that he will know his team still exists, but they will never be as they were before."_

Wanda pushes his wheelchair to a nearby room and stops at the door. "They are here. They are changed, as he said."

His heart ready to explode, Tony opens the door with trembling hands and stands up, taking his IV bottle with medicines with him.

Five toddlers. Four boys, one girl. The three boys, two of them blonde with short hair, the other boy with long hair. The last boy has curly black hair. And the girl has red curls.

One of the boys comes towards him, with bright blue eyes. Rogers.

"Hello, mister! I am Steve! Who are you?"

The last thing he comprehends is someone shouting, before everything goes black.

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Birthdays... and Cooking time!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony tries to find out what has happened exactly with the rest of the team, while the others find Thanos having destroyed the Infinity Stones.

**TONY**

For the last month, he has been constantly having headaches. Trying to find out what Thanos did exactly to the Avengers, trying to figure out a way to rectify this mess... Even when he had returned from Afghanistan and had been working to perfect that first Iron Man suit, even then he didn't feel so tired.

"FRI, do me a favor,please. Find the Av... the kids and tell them to come inside the lab. I want to run some diagnostics."

"Yes, boss."

He has managed to create a body scanner, much similar to the scanning machine doctors use to measure the bone density. Only his own scanner won't measure bone density.

After some minutes, he hears laughters and happy chatter coming down the stairs. Despite himself, he smiles. After the initial shock, they found out that his former teammates remembered nothing of their previous lives. They had all returned to approximately 7 years of age. The greatest mystery was Natasha, though. She hadn't forgotten English, one of the many paradoxes that kept him awake most nights. She sometimes preferred to use Russian, though, when she was pissed or when she was kicking Steve on his ass...  _Still a smart girl._

Happy babbling takes him out of his thoughts and he stands up from his chair. The children have entered the lab, the first time they see it after their transformation. Everyone looks awed, like they are in a fairytale world, a world ready for them to explore. Bruce inspects curiously his computers and the holograms that project in the air.  _Guess he still has his famous wits._

"Good morning, kids."

"Good morning, mister Stark!" He doesn't know why, or how, but Steve seems to be his greatest admirer. He has been a perfect little boy throughout this month, the quietest of all children. Except when he plays with Nat or Clint.

"Uh, no, not this. My father was Mister Stark. You can call me Tony."

Steve looks confused- and a little hurt, too, as if Tony has reprimanded him- and nods. "Okay... Tony. Good morning, Tony!"

He chuckles. "All right. I have brought you here, so we can run...some tests. Like... when you go to the doctor, and he measures your weight and height? Something like that. So, I will call your names, and when you hear your name, you will lie down on that black...bed, yes, bed. Then, something like a camera will stand above you and...check if everything in your body works normally."

Bruce then speaks up, looking a little afraid. "Mister...er, Tony, what is really happening to us? The last thing I remember was me and my daddy walking on the street with candies and lemon juice. Will...will you help us go back?"

Thor nods. "I am a God, you know. And I also remember being on Asgard, taking a walk with my father and my brother."

Every kid starts narrating their own stories, then, arguing with each other about whose story is the coolest. Barton says something about bows and arrows again, Steve talks about the army and how he wishes to be recruited some day. Only Natasha stays silent, eyes glued on the floor. When Tony finally has enough and tells them to stop, Natasha talks to him, looking him straight in the eye.

"If you want to take us back, please don't. I was in the Red Room. Many girls with me. And some girls had to kill the others, otherwise they would be executed. Don't make me go back there... Please, Mister Stark, please."

The boys look at her horrified, and his heart is clenching painfully. She had never told them with great details what they had done to her in the Red Room and how she had finally become Black Widow, but you didn't need a vivid imagination to speculate. And after Sokovia, when Maximoff had messed up with their minds, he had always suspected that the witch had shown Natasha parts of her past she wanted to erase from her memory.

_Better now than later._

He motions them to sit down on the floor, just like he had done at that infamous interview, when he revealed he is Iron Man. "Look, kids. The reason you don't remember anything is because... There was that bad man. A wizard. He wanted to destroy the world. And he did. He used some...magical stones, and half of the population in Earth disappeared. When he did that, you were adults. Just like me. And he transformed you to children."

Thor interrupts him, eyes wide. "You mean the Infinity Stones? My father Odin had talked to me about them. I know some things about the Aether."

Tony nods. "Yes, Thor. The bad wizard found not only Aether, but all six Infinity Stones. And he did this to you."

"Why? What had we done to him?" Clint asks.

"You..." He takes a big breath and sighs. "We were a team. All six of us. A team of heroes who fought and protected the Earth. We were called Avengers. And he did this to you as a revenge. He wanted to teach a lesson to the people of Earth, that's what he said."

Natasha frowns then, eyebrows pinched. "And why didn't he do this to you, too?"

_Tell Stark this is my last gift to him._

"I...I don't know. Guess he wanted at least one of us to remember what we were."

"But hey,guys..." Steve exclaims, seeming excited. "Heroes? That means we helped a lot of people! We saved people's lives, we did some good! Didn't we, Tony?" he turns to him, eyes bright and hopeful.

"Yes, Steve. We were pretty awesome, all six of us."

_And then Sokovia happened... I still wonder if it was right of me to sign the Accords._

"Okay, kids, on the line." All of them stand up and look at him nervously. "So, I decided to call you alphabetically, by the letter of your last name."

_Banner. Barton. Odinsson. Rogers. Romanoff._ Every child steps forward and lies on the crystal black surface, nervously watching the scan moving from head to toes. Underneath the black crystal, there are other scans, smaller, that examine the spine and the brain activity seperately. When Natasha's tests are over, he shuts the machine off and stores the results in for later.

He realises then that the children look at him expectantly.

"Uhm, the examinations are over. You can go back to the living room and...continue what you were doing. The results will be ready tomorrow."

They obviously expected him to tell them right away, alas he can't. They murmur a dissapointed "Goodbye, Tony" and get out of the lab.

_Trust me, I feel like a failure, too._

* * *

"The results are obvious, boss. Thanos may have used all of the stones to eradicate half of the universal population,  but in order to transform the Avengers, he heavily relied on the Reality Stone. The individual abilities of the Reality Stone are the ones responsible for all the changes."

_Reality Stone. Allows the user to fulfill their wishes, even if the wish is in direct contradiction with scientific laws, and do things that would normally be impossible._

_Well played, bastard. You fulfilled all of your wishes. And you rendered us useless, just like you implied._

The results are astonishing. The only ones not affected physically, other than the de-aging, are Thor and Clint. But the other three...

Bruce doesn't have Hulk anymore. There are no traces of gamma radiation inside him, his organs seeming completely normal and no unusual brain activity detected.

Steve has minimal traces of the serum inside him. He will probably not become overly muscular growing up, but al least he won't be a sickly, short, underweight boy.

Natasha, too, is perfectly healthy. Bruce had confined to him what she had revealed him after Ultron, that she had been sterilized in the Red Room. Her reproductive organs are intact and any signs of surgical intervention have disappeared.

"God, FRI...What am I supposed to do?"

"As a scientist, boss? Or as a friend and former teammate?"

"Obviously the latter, FRI, obviously the latter."

"They are your friends. Even if they aren't the Avengers anymore, they are your friends. And they have nowhere else to go. Every relative they had is dead. There is literally no one to care after them. And don't tell me your heart could take the blow, if you gave them away for adoption or in an orphanage. Plus, it would raise huge suspisions. Sooner or later, the world would discover who they are. Or who they used to be. Just because half of the planet is gone, doesn't mean the other half has lost their memories. Or that there are no enemies for the Avengers."

_Honestly, what else is there left to do? Give them away? Hell no._

Until the sun rises, and after another sleepless night, he has made his decision.

* * *

Thanos has used the Stones again. The remaining Avengers, along with Danvers, have decided to trace the gamma radiation they have emitted to find him.

He refuses to follow. He made the mistake of leaving them once. He won't do that again, stones and Thanos be damned.

And when they return, the news are even worse. That raccoon looks like someone has stolen his eggs and corns.

_He used the Stones. To destroy the Stones._

_That was it. We lost. There is no going back now._

At night, he slips inside the children's bedroom and looks at them, sleeping peacefully without a single clue about what has happened. They will grow up with him. They will go to school, have friends, fall in love, make their own families. And maybe they will cry a little for him when he dies.

They have a whole new life in front of them. And he will be by their side, every step of the way.

_Avenger. Guardian. Best friend. Ally in mischief._

He doesn't dare to think of the other word.

* * *

"Wanda, **please.** I'm begging you. I need some help here. You are the only woman left."

"And you supposed I am capable of raising children, just because I am a woman. Newsflash, Tony, I don't have kids of my own."

"Please, I need some serious help! A child is fine, but five? I don't know how to handle them! And yes, you are a woman. I have observed that parenthood comes easier to women than men. I... I am all alone here!"

"Why didn't you call Pepper?"

"We broke up some years ago, smartass."

"Well, swallow your pride and call her. Because there is no chance that I am coming to stay in your house, with you."

"Wanda... I know we never had the best relationships, okay? But I need you. I need you, not for me, but for them. You were their friend, too. Our teammate. Maybe your appearance will offer them a sense of familiarity. Maybe, maybe you are a better guardian than me. You don't like me, I don't like you. I get it. Al least try. Do it for them. Rogers trusted you, Barton trusted you. They need you now. As they need me. We don't even have to co-exist, okay? I can buy you a house of your own, so you can come every day here without being forced to interact with me. We will talk to each other only when it is absolutely necessary for the children. Please. Think about it."

He terminates the call. He is at his wits end. Honestly, the kids are wonderful. Aside from the normal mischeviousness, they are quiet and obedient. The first days were the hardest, when he had to lie and tell them that the bad wizard had eliminated their families, too. But after six months, they seem to be doing fine. He has hired private tutors for schooling at home, at least for the first two or three years. After that, they will go to school. Bruce is still a genius, so he seriously thinks to enroll him in MIT, just like his own father had done with him.  _Just not in the same manner._

But Tony is exhausted. They are practically all day in the house, making his research and work more difficult. When they have leisure time and play, it is like hell on Earth. Nat kicks Steve, Clint throws spoons and forks at anyone trying to punch him, Thor summons lightning. And Bruce stands inside the lab with him, his big expressive brown eyes shining every time Tony shows him his inventions, or when he himself talks with F.R.I.D.A.Y.

He needs help. And he needs it from someone who used to know them. A familiar figure.

But  **that** familiar figure seems unwilling to offer her assistance.

_Scarlet Witch, they call her. Scarlet Bitch suits her more._

His phone suddenly rings. It's Wanda.

"Listen, Stark. I will do it for them. Just like you said. We will have the minimum contact possible. And I don't want to live in that house you promised to buy for me. But I want it. In case you decide to become insufferable again and try flirting with me. Consider it as a gift for my magnanimity."

He lets out a breath he didn't know he had been holding inside him. "Thank you Maximoff. I swear, I will be the perfect gentleman."

"Although, Stark... Telling me to come for the kids, promising me a house? This is how you talk to your wife when you want a divorce."

"What can I say? I have my charms. No lady has been able to resist me."

"Um, no. Many of them did. Pepper, Nat, me."

"Three out of one hundred is not considered a sufficient percentage of failure, dear."

"ONE HUNDRED? STARK, YOU PRICK!"

"And that's what convinced them. See you tomorrow, Maximoff."

When he closes the phone, he laughs loudly.  _One hundred. How did she believe that? I am not Zeus, for Christ's sake._

* * *

More months pass, like a river flowing from the mountains to the sea. November comes, and he has settled in a quiet life in his house, with the kids and Wanda.

The young woman has slowly warmed up to him. They have managed to engage in a civil conversation, without arguing or bickering. She is also very funny, and an optimist. Not to mention how much she has helped him with the kids.

One night, he had invited her to have a dinner with him, after they put the children to sleep. She was reluctant at first, but she agreed.

After some glasses of wine, they loosened up. She talked to him about her childhood, her parents, her simple life in  Sokovia before... Before.

He talked to her about his mother. The love she had for him. His problematic relationship with his father, the man's coldness. How he could never satisfy him ,no matter how hard he would study or how high his grades were.

No one dared to bring up the  _after._ What they became after childhood and adolescence. That requires a stronger relationship. And much more wine. So they wished each other good night and went to sleep. When he woke up, he didn't feel so alone anymore.

* * *

He is working in the lab again. He loves these quiet mornings, when the kids are taking breakfast...

"Tony, Tony!"

Startled, he turns around and sees an excited Natasha entering his lab, her red curls bouncing.

"Good morning, Nat. What's up?"

Her eyebrows are raised. "You don't know what day is today?"

Tony looks at the calendar, confused. "Ehm... November 21st?"

"Yes! My birthday!"

_Dear Lord. She had never told us when her birthday was._

Trying to hide his ignorance and fake nonchalance, he kneels down and tucks a rebellious curl behind her ear. "Right. November 21st. A fiesty Scorpio. You know, they say that Scorpio women are the most clever."

Natasha giggles happily. "I am! I am cleverer than all the boys, that's for certain!"

_You aren't wrong in this. Well, except Bruce..._

"So, what are we gonna do? Are we going to have a party?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. I will call all my team to come and wish you a very happy birthday. And we can cook. We can make anything you like. And a birthday cake. Which is your favourite food?"

Her face scrunches up adorably for some seconds. Then,her blue-green eyes shine.

"Pirozhki!"

_That must be Russian. Other than that, I know nothing._

Sighing, Tony takes her by the hand and they walk outside the lab. "Okay. Just let me grab my purse and we will go to the store to buy the ingredients. FRI?"

"Yes, boss."

"Find me the ingredients, please."

* * *

After they have returned from the store, carrying so many bags that he feels he will collapse under their weight, they head straight for the kitchen. He has already ordered a birthday cake for the party tonight.

"Okay, Nat. Just let me read the instructions... Take 9 grams of dry yeast, put it in a big bowl and dissolve it with lukewarm water and sugar. Let it until it blisters. Add the milk, the salt, an egg and two tablespoons of butter. Stir well and add the flour by kneading well. When it becomes a smooth and elastic dough, not very tight, cover it until it doubles in volume."

They start working, Natasha chatting happily, sometimes in English, sometimes in Russian. Before they add the flour, Wanda enters the kitchen, Thor in hand.

"Good morning, Wanda. Here, we are making pirozhki for the birthday girl. Wanna help?"

Wanda's eyes widen ,then she smiles brightly. "Of course I will help. She is my best friend, isn't that right, Nat?"

"Yes, Wanda!"

Tony pretends to be hurt. "I thought I was your best friend."

She huffs. "Drinking a bottle of wine doesn't make you a friend, Stark."

"You deeply wound me, Maximoff. That was my best Merlot. Anyway, you helping or not?"

Before she can answer, Thor looks at the bowl and then at the flour misceviously.

_I don't like that look, god of thunder._

Just to confirm his fears, Thor grabs a handful of flour and throws it at Natasha. 

"Hey guys,stop it!" Wanda intervenes.

Natasha doesn't seem upset, though. She calmly grabs some flour,too, and throws it at Thor, who is now laughing at her expense.

The boy looks at her enraged, but she has a smug look on her face. "My humble offer to you, mighty Thor."

It seems the boy can't decide what he will do next. Until his face brightens and looks at Natasha. "FOOD FIGHT!" Before Tony or Wanda can react, they grab flour and eggs and throw them on their faces.

Soon enough, the kitchen has become a small battlefield. Steve, Clint and Bruce heard Thor's shout and join the fight. Eggs, flour, milk, water, salt and sugar vases fly all over the place. Adults and children are fighting and laughing alike, trying to hide or to dodge the "enemies' bullets". Until he somehow steps on Wanda, she grabs him from the colar of his shirt and they fall on the floor, breathing heavily. Him atop of her. Now knowing what to do, he stays where he is, looking at her and trying to calm his breathing.

_She is so beautiful._ Flushed cheeks from the fighting, red hair scattered and matted with flour, water and eggs. Her blue-grey eyes are shining, and some red swirls inside them, the telltale of her being ready to use her powers. Alas, she makes no move. She only wipes some of the flour and eggs from his hair, and the gesture confuses him even more.

A small voice brings him back to the reality. "What are they doing?" Clint asks.

Bruce answers calmly, in a manner that now is funnier than ever. "They are going to have a baby."

Tony stands up abruptly. "What? No! Absoloutely no! I just fell on her!"

Wanda stands up too, face still flushed. "Fight is over, kids. Let's go back to work. We have food to make for our birthday girl.", she says, caressing Natasha's curls affectionately.

All children protest, disappointed, but Wanda uses her powers to clean up the mess, both in the kitchen and on themselves. "Boys, out of the kitchen. Some of you have to study. This is not up to discussion.",she says, looking pointedly at Steve and Thor. "The others who have finished their homework, you are free. Nat stays here with me and Tony, to prepare the food for tonight's party. After that, I will come to check on you and we will decorate the house together... If you have finished your homework. Okay?"

"Okay, Wanda.",the boys say in one voice and walk out of the kitchen.

She turns to him again, and he notices she avoids eye contact with him. "So... where were we? Thankfully, the mixture you had created stayed safe. So, we just have to find the flour and the ingredients for the filling."

They start working again, making the dough for the pirozhkis, filling them with sausages, cheese and ham, mushrooms and cheese or mashed potatoes with herbs. Occasionally, he steals a glance of her and every time, Wanda is looking back at him. Natasha helps them and soon they are chatting while making the pirozhkis.

But something has changed, and even Natasha feels it, looking curiously at them and how awkward they have become around each other.

_No. Nothing has to change. I feel nothing for her, and she feels nothing for me. I broke up with Pepper,she lost Vision. Anything between us now would only hurt the kids. Perhaps I should have never told her to come here._

_For Christ's sake... How did that happen now?_

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	3. More Birthdays...And fun for the guardians...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three years later!!!

**WANDA**

If anyone had ever told her that she would live in the same house with Tony Stark one day, she would laugh at their faces. Especially if they had also told her she would fall in love with the man, too.

But here she is.

_Three years later. Three years since Thanos snapped his fingers. Three years since the leading Avengers, except Tony, transformed into children. Three years since Tony fell on me that day._

It is Natasha's birthday again, today. It was that exact same day, three years ago, that Tony decided that every child would choose their favorite dish at their birthday, and all together would help in the making. Steve had chosen honey-mustard chicken burgers, Clint wanted Tikka Massala chicken, Thor had chosen rib eye steak with BBQ sauce and Bruce had found somewhere a weird sweet recipe, the orange pie. It was a delicious desert, and it had quickly become Tony's new favourite sweet.  _The man's sweet tooth is unbelievable._

As for today, they have made Natasha's pirozhkis, with her favourite fillings of mushroom-cheese and sausage-cheese. Her birthday cake is awaiting her, a beautiful lilac coloured cake decorated with Natasha's favourite flower, a single white water lily made from sugarpaste. They expect Rhodey, Strange, Okoye and Danvers tonight, as well as many of Nat's friends from school. Mainly boys, to Tony's irritation and her own endless amusement.

It's ridiculous how much protective has Tony become of the children, even though he has forbidden them to call him...that word. He has done everything for them, when no one obliged him to do so. He took them under his wing and tried to find a solution. When Thanos had destroyed the stones and it became obvious that they could never reset the damage he had caused, Tony decided to move forward. He took the de-aged former Avengers in his house, fed them, clothed them, took them to school for the first time. He even found them hobbies and extra curricular activities. Natasha played the piano, and she was amazing. She had once tried to play "The heart asks pleasure first" from the movie "The piano",and it was pretty good. To no one's surprise, Clint, Thor and Steve had taken up martial arts, but Thor was also very good at painting and Steve had proved himself a sensitive soul, playing the violin. Clint, on the other hand, was the more athletic type, a very good swimmer. Bruce, finally, aside from being a genius, had started piano lessons, too, and he was just as good as Nat. Wanda herself had caught them one afternoon playing together and stealing shy glances to each other.  _Well, look at that... The heart always finds its way, it seems._

But the most important, he was everything they needed him to be. A guardian, a friend. A father,no matter how hard he denied it. He always praised Steve for being so studious and for his talent with the violin, he cheered for Clint in swimming competitions, he had framed some of Thor's paintings and hang them up on the walls in his lab, and he loved to listen Nat and Bruce playing the piano. He chased their nightmares away, he wiped their tears off, he encouraged them to follow their dreams.

 _This is what a father does, Tony,_ she had told him one day. He remained silent and never gave a reply. She never pressured him for an answer. Especially when things were so complicated with them.

She had sworn to never read another person's mind without their permission again. Not after Sokovia. But she had. She had read Tony's mind some days after the...ehm, the incident, and he was as confused as she was. But he had decided to not act upon his feelings, to not make a move and try to court her. He thought she was still mourning Vision, and she was. Three years later, though, things had changed. She didn't need any more time to mourn. And she couldn't deny her own feelings for Tony anymore. Every time their hands would accidentally touch, every time he would look her straight in the eye with those beautiful, expressive, haunting orbs of his, like he was the one reading minds, every time they would have dinner together and he looked at her as if he wanted to swallow her whole, every nerve inside her was set aflame. She wanted to lose herself in a kiss, a hug. 

But still, no move from him. Tony was guarded and careful, now more than ever. He had lost too much,  _they_ had lost too much. He didn't want to hurt the children and chase her away from their home. Because this place was their home now. She would be fooling herself if she said she would prefer to leave and stay in that beautiful house by the coast that Tony had bought her.

It would hurt as hell. It would hurt to never see them again. To never see  _him_ again.

That brings her here, today. She will make her move. And she knows he won't reject her. As she wouldn't reject him.

_So...After the party._

* * *

**TONY**

_Thank God it's over. My feet have been killing me. That was a huge party, Romanoff, and I expect you to bring good grades from school the next months._

He has locked himself in his shelter, his lab. Too many 10 years old for a day. Too much noise.

_Time to rest a while before going to sleep._

He loosens his tie, until he hears someone entering the lab. Startled, he turns around and sees Wanda slowly approaching him.

She is so beautiful tonight. She had let her hair fall freely on her shoulders, only making them slightly wavy. And God, that dress... A mini crimson red dress with embellished crystals.  _A sinfully short dress,_ hugging every curve of her body. With a cleavage so deep, he wonders if she did it on purpose, just to cause him a stroke. She matched it with a silver watch on her left wrist and silver high heels, which are enhancing her beautiful body and her toned legs.

Trying to form a sentence that makes sense, he gulps and finally speaks. "Wanda, what are you doing here?"

She pouts, the minx. "Well, the party for the children is over. I think it is time for adults to play now."

Unable to stop her, to even form a coherent word, he just watches her coming towards him, until she is right in front of him now. Their mouths are so close, he could lean in and kiss her if he wanted.

Wanda threads her fingers in his hair. "I want this, Tony. I want us. And don't tell me you don't want this. Because I can see it. Stop fighting it." She pulls him on her, and then...

God, that kiss. It is like every first kiss is supposed to be. Her lips are soft on his own, but firm and steady. She soon opens her mouth and he opens his own, too, a deep moan coming from his chest.

Next thing he knows, she has pushed him on the wall and is trying to unbutton his shirt. 

 _What the fuck are you doing, moron?_ No matter how badly he wants this, he pushes her off him, with great hesitation, though. She seems hurt.

"Tony, please. Let me show you..."

"Wanda, you can't be serious. I am 51, you are 29. In 20 years I will need diapers or a nurse, and you will be at your prime, at your best years. You... you don't mean it. You don't want me, not really. You have fallen in love with an idea, with the man you see every day for three years. You don't know who I am. What I have done. And what I am capable of."

She cuts him off with another deep kiss, but this time it's sweeter, slower. When she stops, she is smiling again. A smile bright like the stars.

"Yes, I know who you are. You are a man taking care of five children that are not of his blood. You are exactly what every other man should try to be, if they decide to become fathers. You are loyal, compassionate, generous, brave. You are unbelievably handsome and smart. You are Iron Man, both with the suit or without it. You are the man I used to hate, without even knowing who you were. And now I have this man in front of me. He has charmed me in every way possible. With all his flaws, that make him perfect. As to what you were... I am probably the most unfit person to judge you. I want to know who you were. But only if you want to tell me. I will tell you who I was, but only if you ask. And I will never, ever stop loving you for it."

"Do you understand me, Tony?", she whispers. And he can't deny himself anymore.

With a growl, he takes her into his arms and kisses her like his life depends on it. When they pull apart for air again, her eyes are gleaming and he smirks.

"You were right. It's time for the adults to play now."

* * *

"Tony... what are you doing with Wanda? And why aren't you wearing clothes?"

"I had told you three years ago, but nobody believed me. They were making a baby last night."

Children's voices wake him up from the sweetest dreams he had for a long while. And then he remembers where he is.

On the floor of the lab. Wanda on top of him. Both naked.

"Shit! Wanda, wake up!"

She lifts her head slowly, confused and still sleepy. But when she sees the children, too, she gets into panic mode and frantically tries to stand up and cover herself with something.

"Where is my dress? My knickers, at least!"

"Here, take them! Bring me my pants and my shirt!"

When they deem themselves presentable, they open the lab door and look warily at the kids.

"Ehm, sorry kids. We were, you know, I mean we had been..."

Bruce shrugs. "Yeah, I know. Making babies."

Wanda becomes red as a tomato. "Adults' business. And none of your business. Breakfast now, and get ready for school."

They walk out of the lab, but he can't help himself. He takes her hand in his and smiles shyly at her. She smiles, too, and they share a small kiss.

"Just so you know...  _I loved_ that adults' business last night."

"Eww! Gross! Were they kissing with tongues, too?", Clint sounds ready to puke.

"Yes, probably. Just like that day, when Thomas had tried to kiss me, too.", Nat replies.

Tony turns around abruptly. "What? You have some serious explaining to do, young lady!"

"I said he tried, not that he succeeded. I ran away to Ms. Smith and told her. And as a punishment, he wrote 50 times  **I won't try to kiss a girl again if she doesn't want it.** "

He immediately relaxes. "That's my girl."

Everyone climbs up the stairs and he heads straight for his bedroom to change clothes and take a shower. But not before he hears Bruce murmuring something.

"I would kiss you better, Nat."

_What am I going to do with them?_

Wanda approaches him again before he closes the door, smiling deviously. "I am going to have a bath in my room. A really,really, really long bath. So, if you want to join me..." 

She leaves before he can answer, swaying her hips as she walks away.

_Two redheads in a house. Trouble. Big trouble._

 


	4. "We owe this to him"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 5 years later, the events of Endgame. The remaining Avengers find the stones after Scott Lang comes and the battle with Thanos starts all over again.

* * *

* * *

**TONY**

_Ridiculous. He is mad._

_No, he isn't._

5 years after Thanos snapped his fingers, and here they are. Scott Lang is currently sitting comfortably on his sofa, munching on his tuna sandwich. Thankfully, the kids are asleep. He can't imagine what would happen if they heard this particular conversation.

_Time travel. A chance to fix the mess._

_But is it possible? Just because he lived in the quantum realm for five years and they seemed like five hours, doesn't mean we can travel back in time._

_What if we cause more damage? The kids, Wanda, the babies..._

He has so many things to lose now. They have settled into a safe life, away from fights, enemies or space magic. They had gotten together with Wanda and she gave birth just three months ago, to their twins. Those babies, along with the former Avengers, are his whole world now.

 _My babies. Leo Sirius and Aurora Elara Stark._ He had always wanted to name his children after a star or a constellation. Wanda didn't want to hear it at first, but they did some research together and picked the names together. Names they both liked.

Time travelling... It would mean leaving everyone behind. And, quite probably, that they might never come back.

Lang finally stops eating and looks at him. "Are you going to leave this mess as it is, Stark? We have a chance to fix this."

"You are speaking nonsense, Lang. Time travel isn't possible. From every aspect. It directly messes with every scientific law. Just because Hollywood has made some funny movies, doesn't mean it is doable."

"It's not about the travel, isn't it. You are afraid of leaving your family behind. Wanda and the babies."

"And the kids."

"Newsflash, Tony. They are not  _your_ kids. They never were. You just raise them up because they have nowhere else to go. But they are not your children, and you are not their father. Keep pretending, but they don't belong here. Not in this timeline, and not in these bodies."

His words are like a punch in the gut. They hurt more than he is willing to admit. Because Lang is right. For 5 years, he had been content at playing the guardian. The father, actually. But he isn't.

Silence falls upon them. "Stark, I am sorry, I didn't want to... I mean..."

"See you tomorrow, Lang. Let me see if that berserk plan of yours can actually work. Give me some days."

* * *

**TIME TRAVEL- MODEL SUCCESSFUL**

He has never been more terrified of four words. But he is now.

_We can go back... It is actually possible..._

"Tony, what are you...", Wanda's voice fades when she looks at the hologram.

"Lang came a week ago, as you remember. And he talked about time travel. He was right."

Wanda silently approaches him, her eyes never leaving the screen.

"You are doing this, aren't you?"

When he doesn't answer, she continues. "I am coming with you."

"No, absolutely not! I will not do this, Wanda. I can't lose you."

She kisses him softly and then looks him in the eye, with that look saying to him she has already made her decision.

"It's not up to you. And if we die, we die together."

* * *

Six Stones. Seven time travellers. Wanda and he are going for the Soul Stone. Rocket the raccoon, for the Reality. Lang and Rhodes for Space and Mind. Nebula for Power. Strange for Time.

One travel. One shot.

* * *

They finally arrive at Vormir. A planet with no life. A wasteland.

They climb up a cliff, when a mysterious figure approaches them. It has a red, hideous face and wears a black cape, from head to toes, seeming to float in the air.

"Welcome Anthony, son of Howard. Welcome Wanda, daughter of Magda."

Wanda looks at him warily. "Who are you?"

"Consider me a guide. To you, and to all who seek the soul stone."

"Oh, good. Tell us where it is, then."

 The creature smiles sadly. "If only it were that easy."

He leads them to the edge of the cliff and stops. "What you seek lies in front of you. The stone is down there. For one of you. For the other, in order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. An everlasting exchange. A soul for a soul."

Tony feels ice running through his veins, sheer terror engulfing him. "No. No way. You are lying. There must be another way. Something else."

He keeps talking to the keeper, trying to negotiate, but to no avail. Until Wanda's voice, calm and certain, stops him.

"Tony. Look at me."

She is standing right on the edge. Her red hair are wildly flying everywhere, from the winds and the snow. Her beautiful eyes are shining with tears.

She has never been more beautiful. Tears start leaking from his own eyes, too.

_It's not up to you._

"Tony. Tell me you love me. Tell me you are mine, as I am yours."

He can't hold back the sobs now. "I...I do. I love you. I am yours. Now and always."

She nods tearfully. "I'll see you soon. And...don't look down."

And she falls. A ear-piercing scream leaves his mouth, his heart shattering into a million pieces, broken beyond repair. He runs to the edge and he can't stop the sobs, as he sees her lifeless body on the ground, blood around her head and leaking from her mouth, a small smile plastered on her lips.

"The price has been paid.", the keeper announces.

A bright light engulfs him, and he loses consciousness.

He wakes up in a lake after that.

The Soul Stone is in his palm.

* * *

"Who is going to do the snap?"

Everyone seems hesitant. He is numb. After seeing Wanda dying in front of him, he has no more tears to shed. But this has to be done.

"I will do it. I will do the snap."

Rhodes looks at him horrified. "Tony...you can't be serious. The power from the stones, the radiation... You won't be able to take it. You won't make it out alive."

He doesn't hear him anymore. He only hears Wanda in his head.

_Tell me you love me._

_If we die, we die together._

"I will use the Reality Stone first, to reverse its effects on the Avengers. This is easy. Then, I will put the stone back on the gauntlet and use them to do the snap and bring everyone back."

Stephen nods, a cryptic look on his face. "This is your mission. This is what you were made for, from the beginning. Good luck, Tony."

Tentatively, he takes the red stone in his palm and  concentrates, trying to project his thoughts and wishes in it.

_Bruce, Clint, Thor, Natasha, Steve. Transform them back to the age they were when Thanos used the stones. But don't reverse the results. Give Bruce the Hulk again, but also the ability to control the creature and let it appear when Bruce wants. Inject the serum back to Steve's body. And let Natasha's organs intact._

He doesn't know for how much he does this, but the Reality Stone suddenly starts glowing and pulsing, and he feels his energy being drained from his body. Then the stone stops emitting light and energy. He somehow feels his wishes came true.

Tony puts the stone back on the gauntlet and wears it.

A searing pain courses through him, and he falls on the floor.

"Tony, stop! Take it off!"

_No._

_If we die, we die together._

He lifts his hand on the air and... He snaps his fingers.

* * *

**NATASHA**

She doesn't remember much. But she remembers Thanos snapping his fingers and then...darkness.

They are told that the mad Titan transformed them into toddlers, totally changed. And that Tony took them in his house. Fed them, clothed them, schooled them.

Dr. Strange uses then the Mind Stone on all five of them. And the memories flood her mind.

When it's over, everyone is gasping, tears falling from their eyes. Instinctively, she walks towards her piano and sits down, breaking into sobs. Steve finds his violin, Thor finds his drawing room, Clint looks at his swimming medals hanging on the walls. And Bruce sits beside her, caressing her back.

_Avenger. Best friend. Guardian. Protector._

"Where is he?", she whispers.

Rhodes can barely hold back his own tears. "In his lab. He said he wanted to feel at home at his last moments."

They all walk down the stairs and find him. 

He is dead, that is for certain. His eyes are closed. His whole right side is burnt, proof of the radiation that destroyed his body. But he has a small smile on his lips.

_Thank you. From the bottom of my heart._

And she knows everybody thinks the same.

* * *

**BRUCE, 2 YEARS LATER**

"Uncle Bruce, do you like this? It's you and Auntie Nat!"

Bruce turns around and smiles at Aurora, Tony's daughter. When Tony died, he left his babies without a legal guardian. Nat immediately stepped up, and so did he. After their wedding, they officially adopted the twins.

 _We owe this to him,_ she had said.

He insists on them calling him Uncle, and Nat also insists on them calling her Aunt. But it feels like they are their children.

_Did Tony ever feel the same with us?_

Aurora looks at him expectantly, with her red hair and chocolate eyes looking like a mini Wanda. Leo, on the other hand, is a carbon copy of Tony. Both in appearance and mischeviousness. He wonders if one of them, or both, have inherited Wanda's powers or Tony's wits.

"This is a beautiful drawing!"

A sound of a piano playing interrupts them. Nat plays again, and it never fails to make his heart flutter.

"Come on, Aurora, let's find Nat."

They find her, deeply concentrated on playing. Gradually, he recognises the melody.

_The heart asks pleasure first._

After she finishes, she raises her head and looks at them, smiling.

He still can't believe he has this new life. Tony had also used the Reality Stone to keep them sane and healthy, and Natasha had found out that her reproductive organs had been healed. It was as if the sterilization never happened.

"Aurora, my darling, can you go upstairs for a second? I need to talk with Uncle Bruce."

The girl nods and disappears, going to find her brother.

Nat hugs him and sighs in his embrace. "Two years. I can't believe it."

"Neither can I."

She bites her lip and stays silent for a while. "You know...Since I am fertile again, and we were a little bit reckless last month...Uhm, I took a test..." She takes his hand and puts it on her belly.

His heart rate speeds up dangerously. If he were still his old self, he would have transformed. But not today. Another gift from Tony.

"Nat, are you saying...? We...?"

Her eyes water. "Yes. There is a small Banner-Romanoff in there."

He has never felt happier in his entire life. He surges forward and kisses her passionately, stealing her breath and making her limbs shake. When they finally pull apart, she hides her face into the crook of his neck and sighs.

"It it's a boy, let's name him Tony."

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I would really appreciate your comments on this first work! My next one will have more chapters and will be completely different from this one!


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